Travel polyptych depicting the twelve Orthodox feasts and four miraculous apparitions of the Virgin Mary, 19th century

Bronze casting with polychrome enamels

Height × Width:17 × 40 cm Weight: 1,295 g.

This finely crafted object is an outstanding example of the metalwork produced by the Old Believers. It takes the form of a portable four-leaf folding icon (polyptych). Such objects, generally of small dimensions, were intended for private devotion. Their portability allowed them to be carried with ease and, when necessary, concealed, thus meeting the religious needs of a community that, following the schism known as the Raskol, endured periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church. The first three leaves of the polyptych depict the cycle of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, which constitute the principal framework of the liturgical year. Each leaf is surmounted by a kokoshnik-shaped crest, depicting, from left to right, the Crucifixion of Christ, the New Testament Trinity, and the Exaltation of the Cross. The fourth leaf differs thematically from the preceding ones, presenting a unified glorification of the Theotokos. It features four of the most venerated Marian icons in the Russian tradition: the Mother of God of Tikhvin, the Mother of God of Vladimir, the Mother of God of Smolensk, and the Mother of God of the Sign (Znamenie). The crest above this final leaf is devoted to the Praise of the Mother of God. The Virgin is enthroned at the centre, surrounded by the prophets of the Old Testament. In the upper section appears the bust of Christ Emmanuel, while the lower register depicts the Mesopotamian prophet Balaam. He is shown kneeling, with his hand outstretched towards the star, the symbol of his celebrated Messianic prophecy. The exterior plate is framed by a richly ornamented vegetal border composed of dense interlacing foliage harmoniously intertwined with stylised architectural forms. At the centre of the composition, within a plain oval reserve, appears the Cross of Golgotha. This symbol of the Passion stands against an elaborately detailed background, where the fortified walls of Jerusalem and the complex masses of buildings evoke the Holy City according to the visionary aesthetic of the Russian artistic tradition.